St. George’s Grenada: January 27th, 2014. Imani trainees participating in the two week Customs Officers orientation program organized by the Grenada Customs and Excise Division of the Ministry of Finance received training in the Control and Monitoring of Trade in Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).

The sixteen trainees were exposed to a variety of topics related to Ozone Layer Protection and the roles and agency functions that customs officers have to perform as a major stakeholder in the prevention of illegal trade in ODS.

Among the many topics they were exposed to, included: ODS Classification and Identification, ODS Smuggling Techniques, Case Studies on Seizures and the National and International Response to Ozone layer Depletion through the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments.

This aspect of the training was presented by Mr. Gerard James. Mr. James has also been used by the National Ozone Unit (NOU) of the Energy Division to train Customs Officers in the Prevention of Illegal Trade in ODS. The orientation programme ended on Friday January 24th, 2013 and is in preparation for a two year training assignment within the Customs and Excise Division for the participants.

St. George’s, Grenada, Tuesday January 14, 2014: Grenada is among several developing countries that are required to phase out the production and consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) by the year 2030.

From the data collected on consumption in 2013, the country consumed less than 3.00 Mt of ODS, well below the baseline figure of 15.09 Mt and approximately 18% of its allowed consumption. Further, by the year 2015, consumption should not exceed 13.58 Mt, however, with the current level of consumption and the trend over the last three years, it is very evident that the country is well on the way to meeting its 2015 and beyond Montreal Protocol phase-out targets.

National Ozone Officer of the Energy Division, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Leslie Smith indicates that Grenada’s phenomenal achievement in the phase-out of ODSs is primarily attributed to:

the implementation of an import quota system to complement the already established import licensing sysytem;

the introduction of non-ODS, alternative refrigerant technologies;

the training of over 70% of local technicians in Good Refrigeration Practices and the implementation of recovery and recycling techniques;

a well-informed Refrigeration and Air-conditioning industry;

and the co-operation and support received from all the major stakeholders including the Customs Department, Importers and the Association of Refrigeration and Air-conditioning technicians.

Mr. Smith is also confident that Grenada’s consumption levels would not increase (above the Montreal Protocol targets) since there are other control measures to restrict consumption that would be implemented in 2014 and in the years leading up to 2020.